/ How to

How to Reopen Recently Closed Tabs in Google Chrome Browser

Accidentally closing a tab in Chrome is an all too common occurrence. You’re browsing away, engrossed in an article or shopping for something, when you absentmindedly close the tab before you’re done with it. Or even worse, you close the entire Chrome window and lose all your open tabs!

Not to worry – Chrome has easy ways to reopen closed tabs and restore your browsing session. Here’s an overview of how to recover your tabs on desktop and mobile:

Reopen The Most Recently Closed Tab

The fastest way to restore the last tab or window you just closed is with a keyboard shortcut:

  • Windows / Linux: Ctrl + Shift + T
  • MacOS: Command + Shift + T

This keyboard shortcut will reopen the most recently closed tab, restoring exactly where you left off.

You can also right click on the tab strip and select Reopen closed tab to restore the last closed tab.

Restore Multiple Recently Closed Tabs

If you closed multiple tabs, you can restore several of your recently closed tabs:

  • Click the History button (looks like a clock)
  • Select Recently closed to see your recently closed tabs
  • Click any tab to reopen it

This lets you reopen multiple tabs from your recent history, not just the last one.

Reopen Closed Tabs from History

If you closed the tab longer ago, you can still find closed tabs in your browsing history:

  • Click the History button
  • Select History to see your full history
  • Find the tab you want to restore
  • Click it to reopen that tab

This lets you dig back days or weeks into your history to find closed tabs and web pages.

Restore Entire Browsing Session

If Chrome crashed and reopened, it will restore all your open tabs automatically the next time you open it.

However if you closed the entire Chrome window yourself, your tabs won’t come back automatically next time.

In that case:

  • Windows / Linux: Shift + Ctrl + N
  • MacOS: Shift + Command + N

This will reopen the last Chrome window with all of its tabs intact, perfectly restoring your last browsing session!

Reopen Closed Tabs on Mobile

The process works similarly on mobile:

  • Android: Tap the 3-dot menu -> Recent tabs
  • iOS: Tap the tabs button -> Recently closed

This lets you restore mobile tabs the same way. Android can also reopen tabs after a crash.

Set Chrome to Always Restore Tabs

You can make Chrome always reopen your tabs after restarting:

  • Click the Customize button (3 dots)
  • Select Settings
  • Scroll down and enable Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed

Now whenever you reopen Chrome, your previous session and tabs will be restored automatically!

Tab Management Tips

Here are some additional tips for managing tabs in Chrome:

Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Ctrl + T: Open new tab
  • Ctrl + W: Close current tab
  • Ctrl + 1...8: Switch to specific tab
  • Ctrl + 9: Switch to last tab
  • Ctrl + Tab: Next tab
  • Ctrl + Shift + Tab: Previous tab

Tab Groups

Organize tabs into colored tab groups:

  • Right click tab
  • Select Add tab to new group
  • Name the group

Easily manage related tabs in named groups.

Tab Tools

Handy Chrome extensions like OneTab and Toby let you easily list all tabs, save tabs for later, close groups of tabs, and more. Give them a try!

Bookmark Bar

Use the bookmark bar to save important tabs for later access. To enable:

  • Click Customize
  • Check Show bookmark bar

Now you can bookmark tabs and access them instantly from any new Chrome window.

Conclusion

Accidentally closing tabs happens, but Chrome gives you easy ways to quickly reopen closed tabs and restore your browsing session. A few handy shortcuts, tools, and settings makes recovering tabs a breeze. Hopefully these tips will save you the headache next time you lose a tab!

Related Posts